When eBay took away the ability for sellers to leave anything other than positive feedback, a lot of sellers decided they were done with feedback entirely. Some sellers don’t leave feedback at all while others only leave it only once the buyer has left it for them. But whatever display of passive resistance these sellers feel like they’re committing by not leaving feedback, they’re actually only hurting themselves.

Sellers, you should be automatically leaving positive feedback for your buyers at the time that their payment clears. Here’s 3 good reasons:

Buyer goodwill. Leaving the buyer feedback is a sign of good faith. The sooner you do it in the process, the more good faith it earns you which, in turn, makes the buyer that much more likely to cut you slack if things don’t go 100% perfectly. Besides, it’s not like you can leave them any other kind of feedback. So what do you think you’re accomplishing by holding back?

Increases the likelihood of return feedback. Many buyers are old-school about feedback and that they’re only willing to leave feedback for you if you’ve already left feedback for them especially since the seller’s end of the transaction happens first, so the seller should be the first to leave feedback. In addition to the goodwill mentioned above, simply leaving feedback at all greatly increases your chances of getting feedback back from the buyer. In the world of DSRs, the more feedback ratings you have, the less a low rating can damage you, so you really need as many as you can get.

Shows professionalism. Let’s be honest, you can’t give a single reason for not automatically leaving positive feedback that isn’t petty or, on some level, mean-spirited. The “if I can’t leave negative or neutral feedback, then I won’t leave any at all” philosophy is childish. Withholding feedback until you get it from the buyer is unprofessional: you already have their money and their end of the transaction is complete. And leaving a negative message in a positive feedback is against eBay’s policies anyway!

Do you automatically leave positive feedback upon payment clearing? Why or why not?

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About The Author

Selling online since 1997, Hillary is the author of several books and eBooks about ecommerce and publishing including eBay Marketing Makeover, Beyond Amazon, eBay, and Etsy and Sell Their Stuff. She also writes fiction and is a bestselling playwright when you aren't looking. For a complete list of books, plays and projects, visit HillaryDePiano.com.

About The Whine Seller

With two decades of ecommerce experience behind her, author Hillary "The Whine Seller" DePiano would never claim to be an expert on selling online but she's sure put in enough hours to play one on TV.
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